An e-mail from a reader highlights the American exasperation over European attitudes:

Americans can take care of ourselves but is Europe ever going to wake out of its slumber? The irony of a free election in Iraq at a time when Dutch governmental officials are in hiding and films are censored by threat is almost funny if it did not show the utter failure of Europeans to see what is happening to them. There were many lessons taught by the disastrous history of the 20th century in Europe: have they been lost and forgotten so soon? Remember tolerance is letting others do what they want; freedom is being able to do what you want. Tolerance is a one sided agreement, freedom is a reciprocal responsibility.

Arthur Waldron, professor of international relations at the University of Pennsylvania argues that the re-election of George Bush and the killing of Theo van Gogh (which by the way happened on the same day) may well lead to both a more accurate awareness and steps to action to deal with the threats the free world is facing. At the same time however he nails the new geopolitical reality:

If we were to wake up one morning and learn that the EU buildings in Brussels and Strasbourg had been destroyed, we would surely be shocked, but we would not in any way be under direct threat ourselves.

And it is just not a political issue argues Waldron, economics and demographics equally a future which he argues may look something like this:

When the smoke clears, we may well see an Asia much wealthier than before, a United States bruised but still standing—and a Europe that resembles something like the ruins of the Spanish empire.

That’s been my future projection for a while now.